United Nations, Jun 12, 2018 (SPS) - The Permanent Representative of Cuba to the UN, Anayansi Rodríguez, has reaffirmed the support of her country for a just and definitive solution to the question of Western Sahara.
Speaking at a session of the United Nations Decolonization Committee, the diplomat expressed Cuba's support for the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination, based on respect for the principles of the UN Charter and international law. .
In this regard, she highlighted the call of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union to initiate talks among the member states in order to establish a free and fair referendum.
"Cuba has repeatedly expressed its support for the efforts of the United Nations to find a definitive solution to this case, in such a way that the people of Western Sahara can exercise their right to self-determination."
Therefore, we hope that the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council are complied with, added the ambassador.
The Saharawi people need the support of the international community, she said, and referred to the solidarity aid that Cuba has been providing since 1976 when sending medical brigades to the refugee camps in North Africa.
The island has also offered medical study facilities to undergraduate and graduate students, more than two thousand 876 Sahrawi students had graduated from higher education in the Caribbean country, said the diplomat.
'The Saharawi people will always be able to count on the firm solidarity of our people in their heroic struggle to exercise their legitimate rights.' She stressed
Rodriguez recalled how 55 years ago, the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United Nations declared Western Sahara as a Non-Self-Governing Territory.
Meanwhile, he stressed, during the last 22 years numerous resolutions of the General Assembly, the Security Council and the African Union have ratified the right to independence and self-determination of the Saharawi people.
All this in accordance with resolution 1514 on the granting of independence of colonial countries and peoples, said the Cuban diplomat.
In 2017, the General Assembly requested by consensus the Decolonization Committee to continue to examine the situation in Western Sahara and to report thereon at its seventy-third session, She added.
That resolution, among other elements, expressed support for the ongoing negotiation process with a view to achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, leading to the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, Rodríguez said.
However, he said, despite the continuous efforts made, there is practically no progress in the search for an effective solution to the conflict in Western Sahara, which has been at a standstill for more than four decades. SPS
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